By Connor Schmidtke
Across the EFNL this season, there have been several incredible storylines and fitting finishes for teams and players across all five divisions.
This weekend we narrow it down to the final game of the 2022 season, as Rowville take on Noble Park in the Premier Division Grand Final. The winner will reach the pinnacle of the EFNL, wrapping up an incredible return to football after two covid-stricken years.
For Noble Park, it is a chance to snap an 11-year premiership drought and to claim a fifth flag in their EFNL history.
This weekend will also be a celebration of one of Noble Park’s greatest ever footballers, with Ziggie Alwan preparing to play his final game before retirement.
Ziggie has had an incredible football career, with stints in the VFL further enhancing everything he has achieved in the EFNL.
Alwan has made the decision to step away from football at the end of this season, with Saturday’s grand final the chance for a fairy-tale finish at the club where it all started for him.
“I pretty much called time on my career last week and announced to the group, so this will be my last game for the footy club.
“I called time on my career, there might be some coaching that I want to get into potentially.
“I think ultimately, I want to have a year off, to put some time and investment back into my family who have been awesome for me. Behind the scenes they have been awesome to give me support to keep on playing at this level for so long.”
Ziggie has played over 150 games for the Bulls, also featuring in their most recent premierships in 2010 and 2011. He debuted 15-years ago for Noble Park, spending short a season with Rowville in 2019 before returning home.
After spending a year with Rowville, Alwan will now face the Hawks in the grand final this weekend. He says that he still has a soft spot for the club, after an enjoyable year with them.
“It’s a funny one, I predicted a few weeks ago that this would be the matchup in the grand final.
“I feel like I’m mentally ready for it.
“In saying that, I still have some good mates there and Rowville as a footy club was great to me, and I enjoyed my time there.
“It’s a funny one because we obviously want to win, but I still have some ties there and enjoy seeing them do well.”
After a long career with a number of different teams and a long premiership drought for himself, Ziggie returned back to where it all started at Noble Park to finish off his career.
He said that despite the time away, his heart has always been at Noble Park.
“It was a tough call to leave, after a bit of a blowout with the senior group.
“To be honest I never wanted to leave, my heart was always at Noble Park. I always wanted to come back to the club, where I started my football and that was a goal of mine to finish my career where I started.
“I love the club so much; I’ve been around for so long and the emotional investment really drew me back. I wanted to give back to the younger guys and try to help out, and ultimately to try and win a premiership.
“It’s amazing that I’m going to get another crack at it to be honest, I’m still sort of scratching my head in disbelief at that.”
Ziggie has achieved an incredible amount across his footballing career, but this weekend gives him the chance to put a nice little cherry on top.
Alwan said this premiership would mean an incredible amount to him.
“It would mean everything to me, it’s been 11-years since I won the last one and since then I’ve been trying to get another one and it hasn’t happened.
“Ultimately, I set out to come back to Noble Park and win another premiership. All the hard work and sacrifices that I’ve had to go through to get to this point have been so much. I’ve put everything into it, right down to putting my family second at some points.
“Now it’s here, it’s a product of the work we put in. It would cap off my career in a really nice way.
“It would mean the world to me if I’m honest.”